


a second chance (to make amends)

by Liberte_Egalite_Broadway



Series: I don't know who I am (but I know who I'm not) [4]
Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Buddy and Vespa are disgustingly in love, Camping, Difficult Decisions, F/F, Forests, Gen, Getting Back Together, How Do I Tag, IN SPACE!, Juno and Peter get lost, Nonbinary Juno Steel, Other, Post-Season/Series 02, The gang goes to Earth, Two Shot, same with Juno and Peter, so Rita and Jet are like stuck uncomfortably on this double honeymoon cruise, that's it that's the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-10-24 15:50:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17707160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liberte_Egalite_Broadway/pseuds/Liberte_Egalite_Broadway
Summary: Go to Earth, Buddy said, so that's what the team did. Just a simple trip to secure the necessary repair for their ship and then back to traveling. At least, it should have gone that way, and probably would have - were it not for a misstep involving Juno Steel's fear of heights. And so he found himself lost in a forest at night with only a master thief for company and a difficult conversation ahead of them.





	1. lost

**Author's Note:**

> I! SUCK! AT! SUMMARIES!
> 
> In my last fanfiction, I asked, "Would you guys rather see a story about Rita or a Jupeter post-S2 AU again (only this time set in a forest)?" and I even though I had already given you three post-S2 AUs again my commenters all went "FOREST FOREST FOREST FOREST". So here it is, you Jupeter sluts, I hope you're happy.
> 
> (In all seriousness, that was the one I probably would have written anyway. Plus I'm also a Jupeter slut. So here you go.) I couldn't decide between a one-shot or a multi-chapter, so I compromised with a two-shot. Two-chapter? Double-shot? Whatever. 
> 
> I'm really starting to run out of Sleeping At Last "Mars" lyrics to use in the titles of this series.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My thing is that I always post trigger warnings, but I don't really think there are any in this chapter? It's a fairly gentle story. There are references to heights and getting lost if that upsets you, but that's all I can think of. If somebody finds something else that I'm not aware of, please let me know so I can add it. I'm not perfect and I have relatively few triggers myself, so educate me if I get something wrong.

Juno Steel had seen a lot in his thirty-nine years of life. Strange monsters, empty martian wastelands, a cat that was actually a bomb - hell, he lived in Hyperion City, the strange things there were so numerous that he wouldn't know where to begin.  

But this place was something else. When he heard that his team would be heading to Earth for their next mission, he had assumed they'd be landing somewhere in the massive trans-continental city that took up most of the planet's surface. Instead, he stared out at the endless expanse of tree trunks ahead of him and trying to wrap his head around the strange word that described this unfamiliar sight before him. 

_Forest._

The wind ruffled his hair, laced with the sound of birdsong and a scent like the pine candles that Rita bought for his office. But better. Cleaner. A scent of something real, and pure, the only continent on Earth that was a tangle of trees instead of metal and plasma; the only one that nature had reclaimed. 

Juno took a tentative step off of the landing ramp of the spaceship. His boot sank slightly into the mud at the end of it. Mud was brown here; dust and dirt were brown here, instead of the red he was used to seeing on Mars. It was strange but somehow beautiful. 

"Mistah Steeeeeeel!" exclaimed Rita, materializing at his right elbow. "Wow, you ever seen anything like this before? This is amazin'! Even prettier than Earth is on that show!" She hopped down from the landing ramp and took in a deep breath of forest air. "Mm, smell that! That's the smell a' being _alive,_ Mistah Steel!"

"It's nice, yeah," said Juno as he followed her off the ramp. "Not like anything on Mars."

"Certainly not," remarked a cool voice behind him. Juno turned around, and there he was, in all of his glory; Peter Nureyev dressed more plainly than Juno had ever seen him. Since his usual style would be unrealistic for a trek through the forest, the thief was dressed in a plain green shirt, soft black slacks tucked into specialized boots, and a jacket designed to reflect body heat (they all had identical jackets, courtesy of Buddy). The only Nureyevian piece of his outfit was the single silver cuff on his left ear. It glinted now in the leaf-filtered sunlight. A shadow from the ship cut halfway across Nureyev's face, making his eyes sparkle through the partial darkness. He stepped forward into the light and smiled at Juno. "Ready for a hike?"

"I don't really get much of a choice, do I?" 

"Not if you want us to make the deal that we need," said Buddy as she descended casually to the forest floor, Vespa on her arm. 

Juno didn't especially care about the deal, but as a member of this team, he was obligated to work for it. Their ship was in need of a repair - what kind he wasn't sure, but the kind that would require them to fly out to Saturn for a new part. Except that the dealer Buddy had in mind didn't want payment in creds. For some reason, the price he had given them was a specimen of rare ivy that only grew on Earth. So here they were. 

"You know the drill," said Buddy, indicating the tracker slung around her neck. "This plant is rare, but there should be some of it near here somewhere. All we have to do is walk around until this tracker picks up a nearby plant, collect it, and be on our way. It should be quick."

"Or it could not be," Juno grumbled.

"Don't be such a downer." Vespa and Buddy started off into the forest with Rita in tow; Jet would stay on the ship. Juno and Nureyev stood by the landing ramp for a moment and looked into the expanse of trees and fallen logs. 

"Shall we?" said Nureyev. He angled his hand towards Juno just slightly enough that the detective could, if he so chose, reach out and take it. 

Instead, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and strode off into the forest. "We'd better find this ivy soon," he grouched, secretly hoping that they wouldn't so he could spend more time in this place. There wasn't much left in the world that managed to be both surprising and beautiful to him, but this was an exception, and he didn't want to give it up quite yet. 

 

They wandered through the forest, clambering over fallen logs and along the edges of little creeks. Strange insects and animals flickered through the air at their presence. It was like they were scared of them. They stumbled upon a sleeping rabbit, and Juno noticed that it was tiny. He'd never seen a rabbit that small before - come to think of it, he'd never seen a rabbit outside of a sewer. 

Rita babbled on like the brooks that they walked past. She pointed out every leaf, every dragonfly. Buddy had to surrender the tracker several times so that Rita could use it to identify a plant that she found interesting. "There's never been anythin' like this before!" she exclaimed. "Never, never, never!"

Eventually, they came to a wider brook. Luckily, this one had a fallen log over it. Unluckily, the banks were steep, making the log decently high up. Juno felt his stomach clench at the thought of walking over all that empty space. All that churning water. 

"Something wrong, Juno?" asked Buddy, who, of course, was already crossing the log. 

"No, nothing." Juno inhaled deeply. "Well yeah, actually. This thing is... it's high up."

"Mistah Steel's scared of heights," Rita explained. 

"Well, take your time, darling," said Buddy as she stepped gracefully down on the other side. She frowned and looked at the tracker. "Wait, I think we have a reading. Juno, Fay, catch up to us once you get to the other side." And with that, the three of them dashed off.  

Juno realized that Nureyev was still standing on this side of the river with him. He stepped back away from the log. "Go ahead."

"After you, detective." Juno didn't move. "Juno, are you nervous about crossing this?"

"I don't know." Juno eyed the water warily. "Just looks like a rough fall, you know?" 

"I see." 

Silence and rustling leaves.

"Would it help if I carried you?"

Immediately his face felt hot. "You don't have to," he said. True, Nureyev was probably more nimble than Juno, but the thought of plunging headfirst into a river suddenly looked more appealing than going inevitably going weak in the thief's strong arms. "I can just take my time."

"I don't mind. If you think it would help you."

He considered for a moment. Nureyev's dark eyes studied him as he studied the river. "Yeah, okay," he said. "Sure. Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Then he was swept off his feet bridal-style, one of Nureyev's arms under his knees and the other around his shoulders, holding him gently but securely. In this close proximity, the fragrance of Nureyev's cologne was almost overwhelming, and Juno felt as dizzy as if he'd just chugged a bottle of whiskey. He felt his body rocking slightly as they started across the river and dared a look. Instantly he wished that he hadn't. The water below them rushed with a cold intensity that looked about as fun as a kick to the head. Juno hid his face in the shoulder of Nureyev's jacket and squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel the warmth of the thief's skin reflected in the jacket's material. God, this was intimate. Who would have thought?

"Are you alright, Juno?" 

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Nureyev walked slowly, carefully. He set Juno down on the other side of the river, and Juno lifted his face. "Thanks." 

"Don't mention it. We should probably rejoin the rest of our..." Nureyev looked around the forest.

"...where is everyone?" Juno finished. 

"How should I know where they are?"

"I had my eyes closed! You should have seen where they went!"

"Well, I was distracted."

"Distracted? What were you looking at that was so interesting it made you lose track of our team?"

"Let's just go find them, shall we." Nureyev pushed past him and strode off into the forest. Juno looked after him, puzzling - until suddenly he realized that the thief had probably been looking at him. The thought sent a wave of emotion through him, though what exactly the emotion was, hell if he knew. He followed Nureyev, calling "Vespa? Buddy? Where the hell are you guys?"

 

So the two of them crashed through the forest, shouting for the rest of their team. They'd been looking for hours with no success. Juno had the bright idea to follow their teammates' footprints, but then remembered that they were all wearing the specialized boots which didn't leave any footprints. So that bright idea dimmed quickly. Peter Nureyev was usually as silent as... well, silence, but now he winced as twigs snapped and leaves crunched under his high heel-less feet. Juno thought about making some snide joke, something like "Guess sneaking around is easier when you know where you're going, huh?" but decided against it. He didn't want the thief more annoyed at him than he already had reasons to be. Instead, he climbed over logs and down the sides of the shallow hills that appeared in the complex geography of the forest.

After a long time, they came upon a flock of birds in a patch of wild heather, sunlight slanting through branches like windowpanes. Juno stopped walking and looked at the birds, which looked back at him with their empty eyes. The flock didn't fly away until Nureyev was only two feet away from them. One of them didn't fly away at all, just stayed there pecking at the heather. It tipped its shiny head at Nureyev quizzically and allowed him to pick it up. 

"They don't know to be scared of us," Nureyev murmured, trailing a fingertip down the bird's feathers. He looked back at Juno. The dying sunlight shone across his face, turning his eyes to golden orbs and setting shimmering patches over his black hair like the shimmering patches on the feathers of the black bird.  Juno felt like he was seeing the world for the first time, his heart thudding against his ribs. He stood up to his knees in heather and watched the golden sunlight make patterns on Peter Nureyev's hair. Nureyev smiled slightly and flicked his wrist. The bird flapped away into the sky, and soon it was lost amidst the other birds. 

"We're not going to find the rest of the team soon," Nureyev sighed, stretching his arms out. He sat down on a boulder beside the heather and cupped his perfectly formed face between his slender hands. "We must have gone in the opposite direction as them."

Juno sat next to Nureyev and unslung his bag. "Maybe we should just wait here?"

"And just _hope_ they come across us?"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

"I can think of at least ten ideas that are marginally better than just  _sitting and waiting_."

Suddenly he didn't seem so hot anymore. "Yeah? Well, I'd love to hear them, Nureyev, I really would."

"Are you always so obstinate? Our team has disappeared!"

Juno scoffed. "What happened to 'I'm usually the one disappearing, not the one left behind'?" he replied in a bad imitation of Nureyev's accent. It was a weak stab at being funny, but Nureyev looked back at him in surprise. In that brief silence, Juno wondered if maybe he had said something wrong; if invoking that line of Nureyev's was a mistake. Then suddenly the thief burst out laughing. 

"What?" Juno asked, confused. "What's so funny?"

"That is not at  _all_ what I sound like!"

"That's exactly what you sound like."

Nureyev laughed harder, a long and genuine sound that turned into a snort. Juno found a broad, stupid grin had crept across his face.  _Never mind, he's hot again._  Nureyev covered his mouth and giggled. 

"You-" He exclaimed. "You are -  _absolutely_ impossible, Juno Steel."

"Yeah, that's why I'm good to have around."

"I guess so." Nureyev wiped his eyes and laughed again. He swiveled around on the stone and looked full in Juno's face. "I missed you."

_Oh._

OH. 

There it was again. That invitation to talk about their shared past. To bring the emotional baggage out into the open. To... actually dredge up all of the stupid mistakes Juno had made a year ago. 

And Juno wanted that, he did, but he didn't want the consequences. They'd started to build something together in these past few days. Trust. They'd shared a bed when Nureyev was stabbed, for goodness sake, what if talking things through undid all that? He could still remember that night in the infirmary, the air smelling like several dozen candle scents and warm with the heat of the thief's fever. He had lain awake watching the man sleep for hours, tracing his fingertips over the soft ridges of Nureyev's cheekbones and jawline. He hadn't touched Nureyev since, except for being carried across the river just now. He pushed it out of his mind. It was physical contact, but it was just that. There was no trust behind it yet, no intention - an arm around his shoulders was just an arm around his shoulders, nothing more. 

Juno turned his face away and looked instead at the sky. 

"Nice sunset," he observed. 

"Yes." Nureyev's voice sounded slightly disappointed, but he didn't press the matter. He lay back on the boulder and gazed up at the brushstrokes of color in the air above them. "Lovely." Juno watched him watching the sky; the lenses of his glasses reflecting the pink and orange of the sky above the dark galaxies of his eyes. When he closed them, his feathery lashes brushed across his cheeks, casting shadows onto his face; his lips curved in a gentle smile. He was so beautiful. It took a lot of self-restraint to keep Juno from just grabbing his gorgeous face and kissing those perfect lips. Instead, he lay back next to Nureyev on the boulder and watched the sky with him. 

Eventually, when the sky darkened all the way, the thief sat up, his elegant ankles crossed. He took out the survival kit that Buddy had given to him and laid it on the boulder, unsnapping the clutch. "Let's at least see what we have to work with." His nimble fingers sorted out a small first-aid kit, a sleeping bag folded into a very small square, a pack of firestarters, an instruction manual for building shelter.  Juno read over his shoulder. "None of this makes sense," he grumbled. 

"We can start a fire, at least. If you like."

"Sure." 

So Nureyev gathered together some wood and sticks, dumped the firestarter packet from inside the kit, and lit a match. The heather crackled and snapped. Soon a circle of it around the fire was brown and shriveled, and the air smelled like flowers. Nureyev pulled a packet of cigarettes from the inside of his pocket and dipped the end of one cigarette into the fire. He pressed it between his sharp teeth and leaned against the rock. When he exhaled, the smoke curled around his shadowed face. He was so stunning it made Juno's heart ache. "Would you like one?" he asked through a cloud of smoke. 

"No, thanks."

"Suit yourself." The thief took another long draw on the cigarette and let the smoke filter out between his lips. Juno watched him for a little longer and twisted his jacket between his fingertips.

"Nureyev?"

"Yes?"

"I." Juno scratched the back of his neck and stared at the ground. "I. Um. I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for... for what happened a year ago." He could feel the heat of Nureyev's gaze on him but ignored it as words tumbled out of his mouth. "In the hotel room. I did a stupid thing and I've regretted it more than I can tell you. I really have. I want to go back and undo all of that. I don't know if I would have gone with you, but I wish that I had done - _something_. You - you deserved better than me. And I'm so, so goddamn sorry." He ducked his head lower. "That's all."

The fire crackled in the circle of dead heather and they were silent for a long time. 

"Well," said Nureyev eventually. "That's not what I was expecting, but I appreciate the sentiment."

"Don't do that," said Juno. "Don't - don't try to make this into a joke. C'mon. Please."

"I'm not joking, Juno."

Juno made himself meet Nureyev's gaze. "You-you aren't?"

"Certainly not." He smiled. "I appreciate the sentiment. I truly do. I wasn't expecting any kind of apology from you."

"Are you still... I don't know, angry at me?"

"I was never  _angry_ at you, Juno. Well, not for very long," he amended. His lay his soft hand over Juno's leg and looked into his eyes; Juno felt his soul leave his body temporarily. "I was hurt by what happened," Nureyev said. "I won't deny that. I offered you everything I had to offer and fell asleep thinking you had accepted it; I woke up and you were gone. There was no scenario in which that  _wouldn't_ hurt me. But I assume you knew that already."

Juno nodded dully, unsure what to say in response to any of that. Eventually, he settled on laying his hand over Nureyev's. "You," he said. "You are really beautiful."

"Mm." Nureyev smiled. "So are you."

At that point Juno really couldn't wait any longer, so he leaned over. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The forest continent is Australia. Earth is one big city, but they decided to just let Australia be and eventually it just grew wild again. I don't know why, but this is the only realistic way that I see the future going.
> 
> So yeah I'm really mean and put you on a cliffhanger, next chapter should go up before the end of this week. In the meantime, please leave kudos, comments, and bookmarks!


	2. found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot that Valentine's day and then International Fanworks Day were coming up, and this story got buried in the Penumbra tag so... let's hope for more hits with this chapter, shall we?
> 
> Basically, my headcanon is that once Juno and Peter decide "we're going to figure this whole relationship thing out" they're just all over each other from that point on. Maybe they still have some emotional trauma left to work through, but they can sit on each other's laps and/or make out while they're working through it, right? Late-night crying and late-night cuddling are not mutually exclusive, my friends.

Nureyev stopped him. 

He pressed his fingertips over Juno's lips and held him at arm's length. "Juno," he said. "Are you sure about this?"

Juno nodded mutely. 

"Because I don't want us to get into some sort of... relationship, unless you're absolutely sure it's what you want." Juno understood the translation of that was something to the tune of "I don't want to get hurt again." And he understood. Of course he understood. He was done with getting hurt, too.

And a dark forest at was probably not the best place for some grand romantic gesture, and he wasn't sure if he'd earned Nureyev's trust yet, and he found that none of his concerns really mattered. When any heist could be their last, why waste a single minute? Juno Steel was a tired person and he was tired of denying himself the good things of the world. Maybe now he deserved to be happy, and maybe he could make Nureyev happy too. He reached up and gently wrapped his fingers around Nureyev's wrist, guiding the thief's hand off of his mouth and onto his chest instead. "I'm sure," he said. "Really. I am."

The corner of Nureyev's lips quirked into a smile. "Well, alright, then." And Juno kissed him. 

The kiss lasted somewhere between six seconds and forever. In that slow, brief moment, Juno felt his world slow to equilibrium, all the confusing parts of his life settling into orbit and finding peace. His place in the world seemed assured and promised, along with the promise of all the world he had left to see. It was just a kiss, but it was more than that - both simple and intricate all at once. Nureyev tasted like cigarettes and summertime. 

They broke apart, and Juno opened his eyes again. The forest looked the same as it had before, but it was different now because he was different. Nureyev traced the line of Juno's jaw and smiled at him, letting Juno lean into his touch. "How was that?"

Juno smiled back. "That was perfect."

The night air was cold, so Nureyev took off his heat-reflecting jacket and wrapped Juno up in it even though Juno already had his own. Then obviously Juno protested because he felt bad, so they shared the jacket for a while only to remember that there was, in fact, a sleeping bag in the survival kit Buddy had provided. They dug it out and realized that it was only made for one person, which led to more bickering.

"No, _I'm_ the one trying to be forgiving here, are you really gonna deny me that?"

"You're not used to sleeping outside, Juno, while I am slightly more accustomed to it -"

"You think a lady can't take the cold, huh? Dammit, I'm trying to be nice to you, would you just go to sleep?"

And then Juno forgot how the argument ended, but a few hours later, in the middle of the night, the cry of some nocturnal bird startled him awake. He found that the unzipped sleeping bag was wrapped around them both, blanket-like, and his face was cradled against Nureyev's shoulder. He reached up and took off the sleeping thief's glasses. And he closed his eyes, and he slept again.

 

 ~~

In the morning when Juno blinks awake, there's fog over the world. The fire has burned out. The burnt heather smell lingers in the air amidst the familiar fragrance of Nureyev's cologne. There is a haze of dew on everything. Dew is weird because it's like the earth has sweat while they were asleep. The top of Juno's forehead, outside in the morning air, is cold. He burrows deeper under the sleeping bag and nuzzles his face into the warm hollow of Nureyev's neck. He wants to stay like this. This is nice. 

"G'morning," he mumbles.

"Good morning," says the thief. "We have company."

"Sure." He stretches his arms but doesn't sit up. He kisses the artery in Nureyev's neck, feels his pulse. "Gimme five more minutes, okay?" 

"Juno." Nureyev shakes his shoulder. " _Ju_ no. Sit up." 

Then from the world on the other side of the sleeping bag, he hears muffled giggling and a familiar sigh of exasperation.  _Oh, hell..._  Juno frowns and sits up, rubbing his bleary eyes. Rita, Buddy, and Vespa stand there with petulant expressions like they've taken a wrong turn somewhere on the road to... well, to a well-executed heist; _eloquence is tricky this early in the morning_ , Juno thinks. Rita is giggling still. Buddy shakes her head, and beside her, Vespa holds a satchel overflowing with ivy. 

"Good morning," says Buddy, deadpan. "Care to explain yourselves?"

"What do you want me to explain?" asks Juno, ignoring the flush creeping up his face. He stands up and hands Nureyev his jacket back. "We got lost. Now we're not lost."

"I see that," Buddy replies. "But I would like to know why you're in this position of leisure while we've been up all night looking for you."

"Well, there are worse positions you could have found us in."

"Define _worse_ ," Nureyev comments idly as he folds up the sleeping bag. Juno decides to go with the pretend-you-didn't-hear-it-and-move-on tactic. 

"You got the ivy?"

"Lots of it, no thanks to you" says Vespa, hefting the bag. "This guy on Saturn had better be happy." She looks around at the trees. "I like this planet, though. The trees are nice, like they're holding you in. It's enclosed. Secure, you know?"

"Yeah," says Juno. "Yeah, I know." He's mildly annoyed to be interrupted like this. He wanted to wake up with Nureyev and have this morning together, to run his fingers through the mussed hair that the thief is now smoothing himself. But it occurs to him that maybe they'll have other mornings together. Maybe they'll have them again soon. They have time now.

"This is real nice and everything," Rita says. "Like, really! I'm super happy for you, Mistah Steel, and I'm really glad that you're gonna have a relationship with Mistah Arrow -"

"Wait, hang on -"

"-but I gotta radio the ship now, okay? Jet's been callin' us  _all night_ askin' if we found you yet, and now we have, so we gotta go back to space, okay?" She stares at both of them and repeats, " _okay?"_

"Yeah, I get it, Rita."

"I have no objections," says Nureyev smoothly. "Oh, Vespa, you are a treasure - let me carry that for you." 

By the time the ship lands nearby, he's charmed Vespa and Buddy into forgiving him for getting lost, as well as packed up the entire camp and presented Juno with a bouquet of heather flowers that none of them saw him collect. Jet lowers the landing ramp and stands at the top. He unfolds his arms and gives Rita a hug once the team is all inside. 

"I was concerned," he says. "I did not expect your mission to take so long. Also, I was unable to watch the next episode of  _Werewolves in Space_ without you."

"Awww," says Rita. "You didn't need to do that, I've already seen it like a hundred times! And besides, I was fine. I mean, I did trip over a root while we was lookin' for Mistah Steel in the dark. But I've forgiven him."

Jet does not seem to have forgiven him.

Buddy assigns Juno and Nureyev to unload the ivy in the storage room and heads off to set a course for Saturn. The two of them drag the bag over, finding that it is surprisingly heavy. They sit on crates in the cramped storage room and unload the ivy in bundles, which are then sealed in air-tight cylinders, which are then placed in slots in a metal case. Juno watches Nureyev's slender fingers work over the cylinders and gives him a smile.

"Do stop looking at me like that."

"Why?"

"Because you are making me blush is _why_ , Juno Steel. Come here." Nureyev grabs Juno's hand and pulls him onto his lap, kissing him. "Mmm."

"I wanna ask you something," says Juno when they break apart, threading his fingers through the thief's hair. 

"Ask me."

"Can I..." He hesitates and takes advantage of his hesitation to kiss Nureyev again, quickly. "Is it okay if I call you Peter? Not in front of the others," he adds quickly. "And maybe not all the time. And only if you want me to. But... yeah."

Nureyev is smiling one of those rare smiles, the ones Juno has gotten few of so far. The ones he wants to bottle up and keep like fireflies in jars... the ones he could melt at. "Juno," the thief murmurs, trailing his fingertips along the detective's shoulder blade. "I have been waiting _so_ long to hear you ask me that."

And they kiss again, and again, and again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might see that I've done a cool thing with the tenses and that they changed at the end of this fic... yeah I'm a super-creative writer I guess?
> 
> Thank you for reading! I'm going to be taking a break from this series, but don't worry, I will be coming back to it! In the meantime, check out my other fics (I also write for Welcome to Night Vale!) or the Podcasts_Are_Gay_Culture collection, where you can take and leave requests! I really would love for some people to post there...
> 
> As always, comments are appreciated, especially from faithful fans of this series. Receiving positive feedback on my work is such an affirmation. I can't tell you how much you all mean to me. I love you weird internet people.


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